Insulated rail-joint.



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mmlm-alg@Umweg! mum! El ,y l imm HARRY l'. ROACH, 0F ST. LOUIS, MISSOBI.

INSULATED BAIL-JOINT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 5, 1918.

application mea January .11, 1917. serial Nu. 14u21.

To all whom' it may concern:

Be it known that I HARRY F. RoAcH, a citizen of the, United States, residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvementin Insulated Rail-v Joints, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and'use the same.

This invention, relates to insulated rail joints, and has for its main object to provide an inexpensive insulated rail j oint' that can be supported by a single track t1e or bearing between track ties, and which is so designed that the rails which rest upon it. have the effect of being hinged to the joint at the center of the joint.

' Another object is to provide an insulated rail joint which is so constructed that there is no liability of thev sole'plate 0r piece of insulating material on which the base flanges of the rails rest creeping or moving longitudinally of the joint. Other'objects land desirable features -of my invention will be hereinafter pointed-out.

Fi ure 1 of the drawings is a side elevational view, partly broken away, of an insulated rail joint constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of said rail joint, partly broken away.

Fig. 3 is an end elevational view of the i joint.

Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view ofv F1 .5 is a dtaiiview,i11ustrating a slight and in vertical cross section, illustrating another' formI of my invention.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 4 of the drawings, which illustrate-the preferred form of my invention, A designates a metal member arranged on one side ofthe rails and provided with a base plate 1 that extends underneath the base ianges of the rails, said base plate 1 being of approximately the same length as.

the width of the .tie B on which the joint rests and being integrally connected to the part 2 of the member A by a; web 3, shown in Fig. 4, of vsubstz'antia'lly the 'same'length as the base pla or baslportion 110i the the flat surface 4A on the top side of said base plate, so that the member A will bear squarely and evenly upon the track tie B. The portion 2 of the member A that-extends longitudinally of the rails is considerably longer than the base plate 1, and said ortion 2 is so designed that the interm iate art of the same will bear snu ly upon the msulation that is interposed etween the same and the top faces of the base flanges of the rails, and thus securely clamp the rails down upon the Hat rail-supporting surface 4 at the center of the base plate. The ends of the portion 2 are spaced away from the base anges and the under side of the heads of the rails suiciently .to permit the rails to deflect and 4move verticallyl slightly under load.. At ,the upper edge of i the portion 2 of the member A is a thickened portion or flange 5 that extends lon iand on the outer side of the portion 2 are oppositely-inclined braces 6 that extend from the base plate 1 to the thickened portion or Bange 5 at the upper edge of the portion 2 of the member A. A member C that is arranged on the oppositeside of the rails, as shown in Figs. 3 and `4, coperates with the member A to hold the rails in-longitudinal .alne'ment with each other, said members Af and being connected together by meansgf bolts 7 that extend,` transversely through the same and through the webs of the-rails, as shown in Figs. -2,3 and 4.

The metal members A and C of the joint are insulated from the rails by aV sole 'plate l) o1' `fiat piece of insulating material 'that `Ait wil prevent any part o'f the Vportion 2 of the member A from contacting with the rails, and the insulating member F being so formed that it will prevent anypartgof the member C from contacting with thet rails,

.the vabutting' ends of said rails beingsepaj rated by the al insulating end postatnnt areinsulated froi the ilov i 515` I tion of the rails throughout` the entire track members A and Cpof the joint b means of tubular-shaped insulating mem ers 8 arranged in the bolt openings and provided at their outer ends with laterally-projecting flanges or head portions 9 that serve to insalate the heads and the nuts on the bolts from the members A and Cof thejoint. In

order to prevent the sole plate D from creeping or shiftin longitudinally of the joint, I have provide said sole plate at one of its side edges with an upwardly-projecting flange 10,`as shown in Fig. 6, that fits in a pocket inthe member A which comprises end Walls 11, as shown in Fig. 2, that serve as stops or abutments against which the opposite ends of the flange 10 on thc sole plate bear. In the form of my invention shown in Figs, 1 to 4, inclusive, the end walls V11 of said pocket are formed by lugs on the web 3 of the member A. It is immaterial, however, so far asmy broad idea is concerned, what means is used on the member A to prevent creepage or longitudinal movement of the sole plate, so long as the member A is formed in such a manner that a portion or portions on the same engage the upwardlyprojecting flange 10 on the sole plate in such a manner that said sole plate cannot cree or move longitudinally of the 'oint. In tlie form of my invention shown 1n Fig. 5 the parts 11"1 of the member A that serve as stops or. abutments for the liange 10 on the sole plate are extended downwardl and integrally connected with the` base p ate 1, so as to serve as gussets which reinforce and strengthen the member Ai at the point where the portion 2 of the same is connected to the base plate 1. The side insulatin members E and F are preferably provide with elongated holes l2 for the bolts 7, so asto permit the rails to expand and contract without causing the bolts to exert pressure on the members E and F, and thu's crack or break said members.

By usin 'a side member A of the form shown an providing the top face of the base plate of the joint with a flat supporting surface 4 and sloping the remaining portions of said top face downwardly away from said supporting portion, I producenJ joint in which only the ends of the rails normally reston the oint. In other words, the rails are practically hinged to the joint at the center of the joint, and consequently, when the'joint is in service, the wave mois continued uniformly through all o the joints, thereby causing the deflection throughout the entire track to be practically equal. The joint can be made as strong and stiff as desired without liability of causing the joint to break the rails or the rails` to break the joint, as no portions of the oint bear againstxtheunder sides of the hea s of the rails andthejoint is so designed as to -the ends of the joint, the joint mere yserving, to hold the abutting rails in longitudi- 'nal alinement with eachother and to hinge the two rails together in such a Way that the rails can deflect under load without liability of rocking the tie that supports the joint. A rail. joint of the construction above described is much shorter than the insulated rail joints now in 4general use; it weighs considerably less than said joints and it can be manufactured at a low cost. In addition to having the desirable features above pointed out, itis so constructed that there is no possibility of the sole plate or base plate insulating member creeping longitudinally of the joint or the side insulating members be-y ing cracked or broken when the rails expand and contract. If desired, the end portions 10a of the sole plate D can be flanged downwardly, as shown in Figs. 1 and 6, so as to bear against the side edges of the base plate, and` thus hold the sole plate straight. vWhile I prefer to use a one-piece base plate that is integrally connected to one member of the joint, as shown in Figs. 1 to 4, this is not essential, for if desired, the joint could be formed from two metal mem bers A arranged on opposite sides of the rails, as shown in Fig. 7, and each provided with a base portion 1a having a top face of substantially the same form as the top face of the base plate 1, shown in Figs. l to 4, thus forming a longitudinally-divided base plate or supporting portion for the rails.

Having thus describedI my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: L

1. An `insulated rail joint having a metal base plate of less length than the portion of the joint that extends `alongside of the rails, said base plate being provided on its top face with a. iiat surface located intermediate two oppositely-inclined surfaces, and insulating material interposed between the rails and the portions of the joint that support the rails and extend alongside of 'the same. 2. A one-tie insulated rail joint provided with a base plate, constructed to be support- 3. A one-tie lnsulated rail joint providedv with a side portion 'thatextends longitudinally along one sideV of the rails, al base plate i Vof less length than'sad side portion Whose top `face is so formed that only the extreme end portions of the base flanges of the rails are normally supported by the base plate,

-of the rais rest, an upwardly-projecting` and insulating material interposed between the rails and said side portion and base plate.

4. A one-tie insulated rail joint provided with a base plate that is shorter than the portion of the joint which extends `alongside of the webs of the rails, a bearing on said base plate shorter than said plate for suporting the ends of the rails, and means for insulating the rails from said base plate and from the portion of the joint that extends alongside the webs of the rails.

5. An insulated rail joint, comprising a base plate for support'ln the rails and a side portion which extents longitudinally of the rails, a sole plate of insulating Inaterial arranged between said base plate and the base flanges of the rails, and means on the side portion of the joint that engages said sole plate and prevents it from moving longitudinally of the joint.

6. An vinsulated rail joint, comprising `a base portion for supportin the rails and a vside portion which exten s ln itudinally of the rails, a pocket in said sie portion, and a solo plate of insulatin material intei-posed between the rails an the base portion of the joint and rovided with means that coperatev with t e end walls of said pocket to revent longitudinal creeping of said sole ete.

7'. An insulated rail joint, comprising a base plate for supporting the rails, a side portion that exten s lon itudinally of the rails, a sole plate of insu ating material on said base late on which the base flanges flangeon said sole plate, and devices on the side ortion of the joint that serve as stops orv` a utinents which coperate with the flange on the sole plate to prevent the sole late from creeping longitudinally of the joint.

8. An insulated rail joint, comprising a member provided with a base )late for su pporting the rails, a portion that laps over the base .flanges of the rails, a sole plate lof insulating"material on said base plate provided at o e edge with an upwardly-projecting flange, and lugs on said member that serve as stops oruabntnients against which the ends of said flange strike in case the sole plate starts to creep longitudinally of the joint.

9. An insulated rail joint, `comprising a ,base plate that supports the rails, a side porand means on the side portion of the joint that coperates with said Harige to prevent the sole late from creeping longitudinally of the oint.

10. An insulated rail joint, comprising a member having a base plate for supporting the rails and a side portion integrally oonnected to said base plate that laps over the base flanges of the rails, a sole plate of insulating material `on said base plate provided at one edge with an upwardly-projecting flange, and reinforcing and strengthening devices on said member integrally connected to said base plate and to the portion that laps over the base flanges of the rails and so arranged th at they serve as stops or' abutinents for the flange on said sole plate.

11. An insulated rail joint, comprising a base-plate for supporting the rails and side portions arranged longitudinally of the rails en opposite sides of the saine, a sole plate of insulating material arranged on said base plate and provided at one edge with an upwardly-projecting flange, means on one of the side portions of the joint that coperates with said flange to prevent longitudinal movement of the sole plate, side insulating An'ieinbers. arranged between the rails-and the side portions ot' the joint and provided with elongated bolt openings, and bolts extending transversely through the side portions of the joint through the side insulating meinbers and lhrongh the vertical webs of the rails.

HARRY F. ROACH. 

